Dreams
by starsfalloversideways
Summary: Loosely based on the film Titanic. PeetaxKatniss. First few chapters will be T, eventually M.
1. Chapter 1

**Dreams**

The ship was breathtaking. Even though it was the last place on earth she wanted to be, even through she had contemplated throwing herself into the water and being drowned by her massive skirts, Katniss Everdeen had to admire the grand beauty of the Titanic. It was a prison to her- the thing that would take her to America in order to marry her fiancé- (how that word made her cringe), but as far as prisons went it was an impressive one.

She stepped from the carriage onto the ground, assisted by Cato's arm, and tried her best to keep a scowl from her face. She abhorred his touch, but it would do not good to mention it. He assisted her mother next, who looked particularly pleased at the gesture. Mrs. Everdeen enjoyed the company of Cato Abelman significantly more than her daughter did. After Mr. Everdeen had died in a boating accident, it had been up to his wife to arrange a suitable match for Katniss. Even though she was only seventeen, the family's dire financial straits had made it necessary for Katniss to marry well, and soon.

"Take all of those to suites sixteen, seventeen and eighteen!" Cato bellowed at a dark-skinned porter with striking eyes. Katniss hated the way he talked to the man. The way he talked to everyone beneath him, really. Cato was all charm and smiles when talking to the people who frequented his social status, but a brute to others. It made Katniss sick to her stomach to think about it. She would be tied to this man for the rest of her life. Who knew how he would behave behind closed doors, when they were married and she was his.

"Katniss dear, are you nervous about the voyage? You have the most peculiar expression." _Shit_, Katniss thought. She had let her mind wander. _Think of Prim_. Her baby sister, who was currently studying in America. If the Everdeens lost their social status, along with their wealth, Prim could never be the doctor she dreamed of being. That's the real reason Katniss had agreed to the marriage, her mother be damned. She would have married Cato a thousand times, if it would make her sister's dream come true.

So, resigned to her fate, Katniss Everdeen took her fiancé's arm, and boarded the largest and most luxurious ship in the world.

Today was the day. He would finally do it. Stand up to his mother, and walk out the door. Peeta Mellark was eighteen, and he felt that it was time for him to step out into the world and become his own man. What better place to do that than America? He would never inherit his father's bakery, thanks to his two older brothers, so there was nothing left for him in England.

Peeta gathered most of his belongings into a duffel bag, and retrieved his ticket and savings from the loose floorboard in his room. Most of his money from working in the bakery for years had gone to his third class ticket on the grandest ship in the world, Titanic. The rest of it would (hopefully) keep him lodged and fed for a few days, until he could find work. Eventually, he dreamed to open his own bakery, much like his father had done, some twenty years earlier. He would dearly miss his father, and his brothers as well, but he could not stand to live with his mother anymore. When she was not physically striking him, her words had just as much sting. He was eighteen, a man now. He wouldn't allow her to bully him any longer. With that thought, he walked down the stairs to the bakery's kitchen. He left a letter on the counter, telling his family where he went, grabbed a few loves of bread for the journey, and left without a goodbye.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi! Thanks so much for the follows- reviews are appreciated as well! I'm going to be posting a short chapter just about everyday, rather than long updates.**

He thought the ship was striking. It was gorgeous really, the most beautiful ship he had seen, along with the largest. He watched the chaos around the boats, the long lines of people, luggage and cars in wonder. Peeta wove through the crowds of first class passengers, hoping to find his way to where he was supposed to board.

That's when she caught his eye. Dark hair, a slight frame and the most striking pair of eyes he had ever seen. Silver-gray and intense, he knew she had to be the most beautiful person he had ever seen. So beautiful, in fact, he didn't notice the burly man helping her out of her carriage at first. He turned to help another woman out of the car, then returned attention to the girl. He grasped her arm possessively, and led her towards the ship. Peeta couldn't help but notice the awkward way she gave in to him- like she wasn't comfortable in his embrace. Her eyes had betrayed her as well. Instead of the wonder that was displayed on the faces of many in the crowds, her expression was filled with dread.

_How peculiar_, he thought. A girl who presumably had everything she could ever want, looking as if she were being sent to her death, not the most impressive ship in the world.

Peeta could not deny, however, that the thought that she was not enthralled with her husband, fiancé or whoever the man was made him excited. Nearly as excited as knowing they would soon be on the same ship. Not that he had any chance with her. Besides their respective social statuses, she was obviously already involved, whether she enjoyed that fact or not. He didn't care though. He just wanted to look at her again. He would be satisfied for the rest of his life if she deigned to speak a single word to him- he would die for a conversation. It wasn't love at first sight, but rather fascination, and he would admit a fair bit of attraction. He boarded the ship in high hopes, and made his way to the cabins with a smile.

Katniss's rooms were grand. Spacious and grand, it would no doubt be the nicest place she would ever inhabit. She was sure her mother's chambers were equally as impressive, and that Mrs. Everdeen would be all the more impressed with Cato now. Katniss was not impressed. The rooms were foreign and strange. Not to her liking at all. She opened one of her newly arrived trunks, and pulled out the canvases she collected in Europe. They were beautiful paintings, of forests and landscapes that reminded Katniss of her childhood. Her favorite was a meadow, bathed in the soft orange light of the setting sun.

"Darling?" She hated the pet name. Cato called her it regardless, no matter how many times she had insisted on just Katniss. "Are the rooms to your liking?"

"Yes." She answered shortly.

"I didn't want to do this until later, but since you seemed so glum, I figured a present might better your spirits." He held out a box.

"I thought you would like it." Cato opened the box, presenting a necklace with a brilliant green jewel. "That's the largest emerald I've ever seen!" Katniss exclaimed, momentarily taken aback.

"Actually, it's a diamond. There's a long, rich history behind it, but I won't bore you with the details."

Katniss was momentarily stunned. "I don't know what to say."

"Consider it an engagement present." The words made her sick to her stomach, but she allowed him to put the gem around her neck without complaint.


End file.
